More exposure sites in Shepparton
Victorian health authorities identified a dozen new COVID-19 exposure sites in Shepparton on Sunday.
They included several tier-1 sites, which require anyone who attended them during the specified timeframes has to immediately get tested for COVID-19 and quarantine for 14 days, regardless of the test result.
The tier-1 sites included fresh food shops, a chemist, and a university campus in Shepparton.
Meanwhile, Victoria Police on Monday morning confirmed they received a report about a potential breach of the Chief Health Officer’s directions at a funeral in Shepparton on August 11.
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“This report was received days after the event,” a spokeswoman said.
She urged anyone with information about the event to contact Crime Stoppers.
Surge in calls to police about COVID-19 rule breaches
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said on Monday that there was a big surge in people reporting potential breaches of COVID-19 rules.
He said the police assistance line fielded nearly 3000 calls on Saturday, telling 3AW Breakfast it was the most calls he has seen “in a long, long time, if ever”.
On Sunday, Mr Patton said that, in addition to those fined for anti-lockdown protests, 130 people were fined for lockdown breaches across the state in the preceding 24 hours.
He said police had seen an “alarming escalation” in private gatherings at homes in both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.
The chief commissioner described the weekend’s anti-lockdown protests as probably the “most violent protest we’ve seen in nearly 20 years”, with six police officers hospitalised, and one facing leg surgery.
Mr Patton said he was investigating whether public transport could be shut in the lead-up to future protests to prevent large numbers of people from taking part.
On Monday morning, Victoria Police’s Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent reiterated the warning.
“Having that sort of event occur, with the possibility of someone in there being COVID-positive and the potential of a super spreader, just undermines all of what is being done in the state to keep everyone safe,” he told the Today show.
“We’ll continue to do our planning around protests to mitigate the numbers that come in. If we have to look at shutting down public transport systems and preventing access to the city, that’s what we’ll do.”
With Erin Pearson and Broede Carmody
Source: SMH
